The Federal Labor member for Bendigo, Steve Gibbons, released a statement early today on the party’s leadership in which he condemned Kevin Rudd’s “chaotic and deeply offensive style of leadership”.
Gibbons said the loss of confidence in Rudd’s leadership resulted in him “failing to even nominate for leader once the leadership was declared vacant in 2010”. He said there was no place in government “for prima donnas who have had their chance”.
At 7.48am this morning, Gibbons posted this tweet: “Only a psychopath with a giant ego would line up again after being comprehensively rejected by the overwhelming majority of colleagues.”
Gibbons has been the member for Bendigo since 1998. He is retiring at the next election.
Statement on Labor Leadership
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Any political organisation is bigger than the individual and the Australian Labor Party is certainly bigger than Kevin Rudd.
Rudd took us to a magnificent victory in 2007 on a well established policy platform after the caucus rejected Kim Beazley as leader.
However, his chaotic and deeply offensive style of leadership since then gradually eroded the goodwill that caucus had awarded him.
This loss of confidence resulted in Rudd failing to even nominate for leader once the leadership was declared vacant in 2010.
Federal Labor cannot afford to adopt the strategies of the NSW branch of the party in regularly changing leaders just because the going gets a bit rough.
Being in Government especially under the current circumstance is extremely difficult and no place for prima donnas who have had their chance.